Around Utah

June 5, 2014

Morgan – GLASSED UP! opened a new store in Morgan at 113 N. Commercial Street, selling glass products such as planters and bottles, as well as vintage furniture.

Ogden – CORNERSTONE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT was sold to Tennessee-based Integrity Nutraceuticals. Terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Ogden – THE SHINGO INSTITUTE, part of the JON M. HUNTSMAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS at UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY, awarded the Ogden division of BARNES AEROSPACE the Shingo Prize.

Ogden – QNERGY, an Israel-based manufacturer, set a new world record for thermoacoustic power generation at its Ogden test facility. The company used acoustic waves created by solar heat to produce 1 kilowatt of electrical power.

Logan – THE PERSIAN PEACOCK closed its store on Main Street and moved operations online only. The business opened nearly 40 years ago.

Ogden – KELLERSTRASS OIL received a customer spotlight award from HOLLY FRONTIER, a major refiner in Woods Cross. Kellerstrass Oil also celebrated its 65th anniversary with an open house and customer appreciation day.

Roy – R&O CONSTRUCTION and WEBER COUNTY broke ground on a new library headquarters at 2025 W. 4000 South in Roy. The facility will have about 75,000 square feet of library service and program areas. Hundreds of children from a local elementary school took part in the groundbreaking.

First of Several Utah’s Own Summits Held in Box Elder County

By Rachel Madison

Brigham City – Dozens of local business owners gathered at AFTON’S FLORAL in Brigham City to attend the state’s first Utah’s Own Summit, an initiative started by LuAnn Adams, Utah’s new commissioner of agriculture and food.

Although the Utah’s Own program has been a UTAH DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD marketing program for many years, Adams hopes to increase its reach across the more rural parts of the state by holding summits.

“One thing I noticed about Utah’s Own is they’ve done a good job of promoting Salt Lake and Utah County and some of Davis County, but they haven’t made their way out to rural Utah. This is our first attempt to getting out to rural Utah. We’ve partnered with all the Small Business Development Centers across the state to host these summits,” Adams says.

The event was held to acquaint Utah’s local, food-oriented companies with the benefits of the Utah’s Own program. The company owners also heard from industry experts on how to market and grow their businesses.

“Utah’s Own wants to help expand your businesses,” Adams says. “We can help by partnering you up with other entrepreneurs, and we can help get you into restaurants and grocery stores.”

During this year’s legislative session, Rep. Lee Perry, R-Perry, helped to get $85,000 appropriated for the Utah’s Own summits. Perry says he’s watched what Utah’s Own has done with a small budget over the last four years and wanted to make sure the program got some funding this year from the Legislature. “Our economy grows through small businesses,” he says. “It’s not great big companies.”

In 2013, 150 Utah’s Own companies were surveyed. A total of 75 percent indicated Utah’s Own was important to their overall success and 88 percent indicated Utah’s Own was important to Utah’s economic development. The same 150 companies reported having created 591 new jobs since 2010—almost 200 jobs per year, or more than one job per company per year, according to a press release from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.

Several Utah’s Own products were showcased during the summit, including cheeses from HEBER VALLEY ARTISAN CHEESE, popcorn from POP ART, truffles from UTAH TRUFFLES/THE CACAO GROUP and beverages from APPLE BEER.

Laurie Seron, owner of LAURIE’S BUFFALO GOURMET, has found success through help from Utah’s Own. About two years ago, she spearheaded a group through Utah’s Own called Utah Specialty, which is a support group for small, local food companies to come together and talk about issues, concerns and answer each other’s questions. The group currently has about 145 vendors who participate.

“My objective with Utah Specialty was to provide education, a safe place to go to ask those ‘dumb questions,’ and provide a place where people could come and know we’re all in this together,” she says.

Jed Christenson, director of the Utah’s Own program, says he looks forward to hosting summits in other areas throughout the state.

“Utah’s Own program was developed to create a consumer culture to look for and purchase products grown, made and manufactured right here in Utah,” he says. “That fuels the economic engine of the state of Utah. We want to encourage consumers to look for and buy Utah’s Own products.”